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LEADING THE WAY in Character Education 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

Transcript of LEADING THE WAY in Character Educationcharacter.org/wp-content/uploads/Annual_Report_11.pdfThese...

LEADING THE WAY in Character Education

2011 ANNUAL REPORT

“It is our character that supports the promise

of our future - far more than particular

government programs or policies.”–William J. Bennett

Former U.S. Secretary of Education

I am pleased to report that 2011 was a very productive year for our organization. We are proud of the good work that was done in support of our strategic goal of being the leading force for character education in our nation. Toward that end, we broadened our perspectives, we collaborated with others to advocate for change, and we took steps to reach more people.

One significant way we expanded our focus was by changing the National Schools of Character program. Based on the growing number of exemplar schools, cou-pled with our desire to help all schools achieve a high standard of excellence, we changed it from an awards program to a school improvement process. It led to the highest number of National Schools of Character in the program’s history.

An example of collaboration with others to encourage change was our support of a special U.S. Senate briefing called, “Enhancing Conditions for Student Learning and Academic Achievement through Social, Emotional and Character Development.” The event was spearheaded by a CEP Board member. We co-sponsored it with colleagues from other organizations that support schools and youth development.

And, finally, CEP worked hard during 2011 to better inform others of the impor-tance and relevance of character education. For example, we appeared on talk radio stations in cities throughout the nation, we improved our website, we developed a webinar training series, and we published a paper called “Character Development During the College Years: Why It’s Crucial and How It Can Be Fostered.”

Although proud of what we consider a good year in many ways, all of us at CEP also realize that much remains to be done. The dedicated staff is committed to stay-ing on the same path of excellence during the coming year—in pursuit of our core strategic goals and broader vision to see quality character education in all schools. Excellence is a journey, not a destination!

With gratitude and respect for those who support our noble work,

Joseph W. MazzolaPresident & CEO

LEADING THE WAY

We took bold steps this year to both

strengthen and expand our vision of

quality character education in all schools.

CEP reaffirmed its place as the leading

national advocate for character education

by reaching more schools and students

than ever before in the United States,

while also broadening its scope and

establishing itself within conversations

on character education throughout

the world.

LEADING THE WAY to School Improvement

CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 3

CEP’s flagship National Schools of Character (NSOC) program underwent a groundbreaking transformation. The NSOC program transitioned from an awards program to a comprehensive school improvement process, providing schools with the opportunity to receive feedback as well as recognition for growth and excellence.

In total, 140 schools applied to the NSOC program and received indi-vidualized feedback on their character education efforts, as guided by CEP’s Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education. A record-breaking total of 43 schools and one school district met CEP’s rigorous standards of excellence and were recognized as 2011 National Schools of Character.

Each exemplar school will share its successful character education initia-tives with other schools. CEP held

a leadership summit at the National Forum on Character Education for the 82 NSOC representatives in attendance to aid them in their outreach efforts. The Forum also featured the first NSOC Marketplace of Ideas, which brought numerous Schools of Charac-ter together to share their best practices with others. Participants raved about the session. One remarked that it was a “great way to allow us to hear from several great schools.”

If previous trends hold true, each NSOC will connect with approximately 320 educators representing nearly 100 schools and 40,000 students. Collectively, the 2011 National Schools of Character will likely reach two million students across the nation to promote positive academic, social, emotional, and ethical development. Never before have the Schools of Character reached so many schools and students.

National Schools of Character: A School Improvement Process that Works

Promising Practices: Grass Roots Appeal with an International ScopeThe Promising Practices program also expanded in 2011. An unprecedented 500 schools and districts applied for a Promising Practices award, and 260 were recognized for their unique practices that develop good character in students.

The Promising Practices program not only reached more schools across the United States, but it increasingly included schools from across the globe. The 2011 winners included eight international schools: six from Mexico, one from Singapore, and one from Brazil. Several of the international winners shared their cross-cultural experiences with others at the National Forum on Character Education.

Students at Salt Brook Elementary School (New Providence, NJ) see themselves as not merely classmates but also as citizens.

Beauvoir, the National Cathedral Elementary School (Washington, D.C.) focuses on the development of the whole child.

4 CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

CEP Training WebinarsCEP developed a new webinar series based on the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education. Through these webinars, schools everywhere—from the United States to Japan—will gain foundational knowledge in character development.

The series features national experts in character education and experienced CEP trainers. Each webinar includes best practices and strategies that webinar participants can tailor to their own schools and communities. Topics range from a big-picture look at “The Power of Effective Character Education” to more specific ways of “Using Character Development to Foster Meaningful Academic Curriculum with Core, Performance, and Intellectual Values.” Entitled “Transform School Culture—Make It Happen,” the series of 12 webinars is set to begin in January 2012.

CEP also offered webinars to help applicants with the new online application for State and National Schools of Character.

These initiatives complement CEP’s traditional approach to professional development, which has continued across the country. In 2011 CEP held trainings with more than 1,000 participants in Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, Michigan, and Kansas.

CEP also used the 18th National Forum on Character Education as a training site. This year’s pre-conference Foundational Training included 25 par-ticipants, representing schools across the nation and the world. One participant

said, “[The 11 Principles Foundational Training was] a great start to the confer-ence and a fantastic orientation.”

By expanding its trainings, CEP is able to provide more schools with a framework for successful, character-based school transformation. By leveraging technology to offer online training, we can also dramatically lower the cost for professional development.

Website EnhancementsThanks to a grant from the John Temple-ton Foundation, CEP redesigned its website with the goal of giving educators the tools and assistance they need to implement holistic, systemic change as well as providing resources for students, parent, and communities.

The new multi-tiered resource cen-ter is designed to help those unfamiliar with comprehensive character education to better understand what it looks like, how to implement it, and what suc-cesses it can lead to in schools. It will also provide networking, information sharing and leadership opportunities to practi-tioners who are already deeply involved.

CEP’s overarching strategic goal is to create an extensive online community of teachers and administrators focused entirely on the character development of young people, coupled with more initiatives in more schools. The website and online community will continue to evolve in 2012.

Though the website launched toward the end of 2011, it has already had a notable impact in furthering CEP’s mission. It provides 24/7 virtual assistance to teachers on every aspect of character development in classrooms, to include a searchable data base of best classroom practices, videos that bring character education strategies and impact to life, and more.

One of the new website sections en-titled “Key Topics” serves to relate char-acter education to issues at the forefront of discussions on education. It provides information on a host of topics of great interest to today’s educators--bullying prevention, school climate, academic achievement, academic integrity, and 21st century skills.

The revamped website also includes videos from CEP’s 18th National Forum on Character Education, enabling educa-tors from around the world to partici-pate virtually.

Improving Access to More Affordable and Convenient Training & Resources

“I care deeply about virtuous citizenship and

our democratic nation. That’s why I support CEP.

They provide excellent resources, they bring

people together, they identify real-world practices

that have been shown to work. Furthermore,

they share all of this with others who, like me,

wish to improve schools and develop more

honest, ethical, and responsible citizens.”–Dick Pieper, Chairman

PPC Partners, Inc.

Why I Give

LEADING THE WAY

CEP takes its role as national leader in

character development very seriously.

In 2011 we participated in the federal

government’s Bullying Prevention

Summit in Washington, DC.; reached out

to members of Congress to encourage

their support for including character

development in education legislation;

and supported a ground-breaking, state-

wide initiative in Kansas. President Joe

Mazzola also participated in a radio blitz

about character education that reached

more than 7 million listeners throughout

the country.

LEADING THE WAY to National Awareness

CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 7

CEP collaborated with partners to pro-mote federal policies that support whole child education in our nation’s schools. A senate briefing in May entitled, “Enhanc-ing Conditions for Student Learning and Academic Achievement through Social, Emotional, and Character Development”

was the result of leadership by CEP Board member Linda McKay. The co-sponsors of the briefing included CEP, the Com-mittee for Children, the National School Climate Center, and the National Associa-tion of School Psychologists. The goal of the presentation was to make a compel-ling case for the need for social, emotional and character development in schools so that those concerns would be addressed in the future changes to federal legislation.

Senators Tom Harkin (IA-D) and Mike Enzi (WY-R) supported the brief-ing that was attended by more than 50

people, many of them staffers represent-ing elected officials. Panelists included Maurice Elias, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University and a member of CEP’s Education Advisory Council; Ra-mona Treviño, Chief Academic Officer for Austin Independent School District; Kristen Pelster, the Principal of Ridge-wood Middle School in Arnold, Missouri (a National School of Character); and Pat Abby, a policy advisor for the Commit-tee for Children. Treviño and Pelster presented compelling stories of failing schools that were turned around as a result of positive character development.

“Kristen Pelster really struck a chord with the audience when telling the real-life ‘rags to riches’ transforma-

tion story of her school (over 600 F’s in 2001—only 6 in 2010…7% proficient in math in 2001—71% in 2010), driven by their focus on character education with zero changes to academic curriculum,” CEP President & CEO Joe Mazzola said. “She was amazing.”

Dr. Elias summarized important and relevant research and made a very compelling case for the need for social, emotional and character development in schools and how it serves as a con-necting thread to success in school and in life.

Shedding Light on BullyingOne of the highlights of the 2011 National Forum on Character Education was the keynote panel on bullying pre-vention. The panel brought together three national leaders to offer big-picture think-ing on the issues surrounding bullying.

Dr. Anne Bryant, director of the National School Boards Association, dis-cussed the importance of building student voice into any anti-bullying program; Dr. Jason Ohler addressed the particular chal-lenges that schools face in the digital age, especially how to create empathy and good citizenship in an anonymous atmosphere; and noted psychologist Dr. Michele Borba explained six concrete steps that schools can take to prevent bullying.

Following the presentations, audi-ence members engaged in a question and answer session and lingered to speak with the panelists once the program ended. The panel stimulated discussions that continued throughout the confer-ence at the many breakout sessions on bullying prevention, and Borba’s highest-attended hot-topic discussion Saturday morning. It focused on the importance of developing empathy.

Senate Briefing: Impact of Character Education in our Nation’s Schools

“With the huge budgets deficits facing our country, it is critical more than ever to educate our elected officials about what character education means for our schools, and why it is essential. Advocacy efforts must remain

a priority at the federal, state and local levels.” –Linda McKay, CEP Board Member

Kristen Pelster, principal of Ridgewood Middle School (Arnold, MO), shares her school’s powerful story of school improvement.

Anne Bryant, executive director of the National School Boards Association, explained how local school boards are taking the issue of bullying very seriously with a new “listening tour” on bullying prevention.

8 CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

The release of CEP’s first position paper on higher education marked another important step that CEP took in 2011 to bring character education into new areas of our education system. “Character Development

During the College Years: Why It’s Crucial and How It Can Be Fostered” was published with the intent of broadening the understanding

of what character education looks like and how it works. The paper brings CEP’s call to character into the realm of higher education.

Dr. Arthur Schwartz continued the discussion on this important topic at the National Forum on Character Education during his breakout session, “Character Development in the College Years.” He led an open discussion on the place of character education in higher education, engaging the many Forum participants who were affiliated with colleges and universities. In fact, at least 12 full-time post-secondary students attended the Forum, along with at least 23 faculty and other individuals directly affiliated with an institution of higher education.

“We chose to support CEP when they brought their annual conference to the West Coast. Our organization supports youth ethical decision-making and citizenship, two areas that CEP emphasizes in their work. Therefore, it was quite natural that we chose to sponsor their excellent National Forum on Character Education. We were especially proud to provide scholarship support to Bay Area educators. They really appreciated the opportunity to participate in such an inspiring and constructive learning environment, and they returned to their schools totally committed to advancing character education among their students and faculty.”

–Marcia Argyris, Senior Program OfficerS.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Stephen Bechtel Fund

Why I Give

CEP continued to lead the way in character education throughout 2011 by increasing and expanding its training and consulting capacity. To increase its number of professional development experts, CEP hosted a “Training of the Trainers” in Washington, D.C. Graduates of the week-long training course will complete an apprenticeship in 2012 in order to become part of CEP’s cadre of professionals. They will help CEP provide trainings at lower cost and in more locations throughout the country and beyond. This new group came from seven different states and one other country—Singapore.

We brought more professional development trainers and character educa-tion consultants on-board in order to provide guidance to a growing number of our nation’s schools using the framework of our Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education. CEP even offered free personalized consulting services at our National Forum on Character Education for the first time this year.

Spreading the Word

Extending Character Development onto College Campuses

CEP prepares a new cadre of trainers to guide schools across the globe with the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education.

LEADING THE WAY

CEP has become a vital resource for

a burgeoning international interest in

character education. In 2011, our outlook

and reach expanded in response to the

enthusiastic reception that character

education has received in many parts of

the world. Representatives from numerous

countries came to CEP for resources as

they were looking to start up or further

their own efforts in character education.

At the same time, CEP facilitated cross-

cultural learning and conversation by

bringing together different perspectives

at the National Forum on Character

Education and in trainings.

LEADING THE WAY to Global Character Education

CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 11

Why I Give

The 18th National Forum on Character Education was held in San Francisco, CA from October 19-22, 2011. The theme—Building Ethical Commu-nities—provided a rich backdrop for conference programming on the critical role that both schools and communi-ties play in strengthening the character of young people for a more just and compassionate society.

Though attendance from the Unit-ed States was down this year due to the financial constraints that many schools continue to face, the Forum welcomed attendees from not only 39 states and Puerto Rico, but also 9 other countries:

Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The international attendees were exceptionally involved in various confer-ence opportunities—whether as confer-ence volunteers or active participants. At the annual membership meeting, some attendees suggested to CEP’s Board of Directors that they develop an international award to recognize schools of character. The idea was discussed at CEP’s Board meeting, which was held immediately after the conference closed.

Forum programming also reflected CEP’s growing global reach. Drs. Richard

Benjamin and Betty Siegel led one of the breakout sessions at the Forum, entitled “Strategies for Moral and Aca-demic Growth Directly from Students in Atlanta and Hong Kong.” The session covered character education strategies developed and documented in schools in both the United States and China. This session also made use of Skype for the first time at a CEP Forum to connect students in Hong Kong and Atlanta with participants.

CEP Board chair Charles Haynes also led a breakout session with an international focus, entitled “Face to Faith: Creating Ethical Global Dia-logue.” Dr. Haynes shared Face to Faith’s curriculum, which works to foster global dialogue between students of diverse regions, cultures, and beliefs to create meaningful, respectful, and peaceful understanding across religious and cultural differences. In keeping with CEP’s increasingly global outlook, these sessions fostered international sharing of character education strate-gies and thought.

International Participation in the Forum

“I am convinced that CEP’s 11 Principles is a comprehensive framework, both in depth and

breadth, which any school in any part of the world can embrace to bring forth transformation in the

school culture to promote effective character education processes and practices.”

–Siva Gopal Thaiyalan,Trainers’ course participant from Singapore

12 CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

CEP staff welcomed international Fulbright teachers (left) and members of the Cyprus government (right) to Washington, D.C. to discuss character education at the global level.

Financials

CEP Fiscal Year 2010 Current Assets $1,474,790 Property & Equipment $4,176 Other Assets $401,462 Total Assets $1,880,429 Current Liabilities $272,038 Fund Balance/Equity $1,608,390 Total Liabilities & Fund Balance $1,880,429 Contributions/Fees $1,210,195 Released Contributions $353,400 Other Revenue $139,437 Total Revenue $1,703,032 Core Restricted Programs $1,015,998 Unrestricted Programs $656,185 Total Expenses $1,672,183 Net Income Gain/Loss $30,849

The above numbers are for FY2010. In 2011 the Board of Directors changed CEP’s fiscal year to coincide with the calendar year. Due to this change, audited financial statements for the current year were not completed at the time of publishing. The audited statements will be posted on the CEP website when they become available.

CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 13

Charles Haynes, ChairpersonDirector, Religious Freedom Education Project Newseum

Sanford N. McDonnell, Chairman EmeritusChairman EmeritusMcDonnell Douglas Corporation

Frank A. Keating, Vice ChairpersonFormer Governor, OklahomaPresident and CEO American Bankers Association

Thomas Lickona, SecretaryProfessor (ret.), Childhood and Early Childhood Education DepartmentDirector, Center for the 4th and 5th RsSUNY Cortland

Charles E. BakerCPA (ret.)Ernst & Young LLP

Marvin BerkowitzSanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character EducationUniversity of Missouri—St. Louis

Michele BorbaEducational Psychologist and Author

Anne L. BryantExecutive DirectorNational School Boards Association

Jeffrey K. CordesPresident and CEOtalentRISE LLC

David W. Fisher Executive Vice President, Wealth DivisionBB&T

Charlotte K. Frank Senior Vice President, Research & DevelopmentMcGraw–Hill Companies

Maryanne LavanSenior Vice President and General CounselLockheed Martin Corporation

Joseph W. MazzolaPresident & CEOCharacter Education Partnership

Linda J. McKayNational Advocate for Character Education in America’s Schools

Eileen SantiagoPrincipal (ret.)Thomas A. Edison School

Michael ShreveRegulatory Compliance ManagerSavannah College of Art and Design

Betty SiegelPresident EmeritusKennesaw State University

Richard TeerlinkFormer Chairman and CEOHarley–Davidson Motor Company

Glenn WilkeExecutive DirectorMidtown Educational Foundation

Anne L. Bryant, ChairpersonExecutive Director National School Boards Association

Ron BergerChief Program OfficerExpeditionary Learning

Marvin BerkowitzSanford N. McDonnell Professor of Character EducationUniversity of Missouri—St. Louis

Jonathan CohenPresidentNational School Climate Center

Charles ElbotPrincipal CoachDenver Public Schools

Maurice EliasProfessor, Department of Psychology Rutgers University

Kristin D. FinkSecondary English Language Arts/ Literacy SpecialistGranite School District

Karen GellerAssistant PrincipalUpper Merion Area Middle School

Thomas LickonaProfessor (ret.), Childhood and Early Childhood Education Department Director, Center for the 4th and 5th Rs SUNY Cortland

Darcia NarváezDirector, Collaboration for Ethical Education University of Notre Dame

Larry NucciResearch Educator, Institute of Human DevelopmentAdjunct Professor, Graduate School of EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley

Clark PowerProfessor, Psychology and Liberal StudiesUniversity of Notre Dame

Clifton L. TaulbertPresident, The Building Community InstitutePresident, The Freemount Corporation

Philip Fitch VincentDirectorCharacter Development Group

David WangaardDirectorThe School for Ethical Education

Board of Directors

Education Advisory Council

14 CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

National Leadership CouncilDavid M. AbshirePresidentCenter for the Study of the Presidency and Congress

Norman R. AugustineChairman and CEO (ret.)Lockheed Martin Corporation

Zbigniew BrzezinskiSenior AdvisorCenter for Strategic & International Studies

Barbara BushFormer First Lady

Stephen L. CarterWilliam Nelson Cromwell Professor of LawYale Law School

Stephen R. CoveyCo-Founder/Vice ChairmanFranklin Covey Company

William H. DanforthChancellor EmeritusWashington University

Archie DunhamChairman and CEO (ret.)ConocoPhillips

George H. Gallup, Jr.ChairmanThe George H. Gallup International Institute

Robert W. GalvinChairman of the Board (ret.)Motorola, Inc.

Earl G. GravesChairman and CEOBlack Enterprise Magazine

J. Barry GriswellChairman, President, and CEO (ret.)The Principal Financial Group

Walter IsaacsonPresident and CEOThe Aspen Institute

William S. KanagaFormer ChairmanU.S. Chamber of Commerce

Peter S. LynchVice ChairmanFidelity Management & Research Company

Robert J. MazzucaChief Scout ExecutiveBoy Scouts of America

Harold McGraw IIIChairman and CEOMcGraw–Hill Companies

John E. PepperChairman and CEO (ret.)The Procter & Gamble Company

Colin L. PowellGeneral (ret.), U.S. ArmyFormer Secretary of State

Richard W. RileyPartner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLPFormer Secretary of Education

Harold T. ShapiroPresident EmeritusProfessor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International AffairsPrinceton University

Ralph W. ShraderChairman and CEOBooz Allen Hamilton Inc.

John M. Templeton, Jr. PresidentJohn Templeton Foundation

Kathleen Kennedy TownsendFormer Lieutenant GovernorState of Maryland

James S. TurleyChairman and CEOErnst & Young LLP

William H. WebsterChairmanHomeland Security Advisory Council

Clifton R. Wharton, Jr.Former Chairman and CEOTIAA-CREF

“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable to world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world,

and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” —Woodrow Wilson

Two Long-time Supporters Die

CEP was saddened by the passing of two members of our National Leader-ship Council in 2011, Robert W. Galvin and George H. Gallup, Jr.

Both gentlemen were remarkable leaders who reached the very highest levels of their chosen professions. They were also deeply admired for their integrity and by the fact that they also chose to give back in meaningful ways to improve the lives of others.

All of us at CEP thank both men for serving on our leadership council.

CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT 15

Honor Roll of Donors

Alexander, Douglas

Baker, Charles

Berkowitz, Marvin

Berreth, Diane

Biggs, A.D.

Borba, Michele

Boyd, Stephen

Brandon, Cledythe

Briggs-Hale, Christopher

Bryant, Anne

Bush, Barbara

Chapple, Jay E.

Cordes, Jeffrey

Eddins, Bryan

Fahrenbruck, Kent

Fisher, David

Fox, Sam and Marilyn

Frank, Charlotte

Freidman, Eric

Gibbons, Elizabeth

Gilhousen, Frederic

Glover, John

Greer, Peter

Grove, James

Gruener, Barbara

Haynes, Charles

Hinton, Marilyn

Hirsch, Howard

Hirsch, Kelsey

Hobler, Herbert and Jean

Jackson, Edward and Nel

Johnsen, Suzanne

Jones, Judy

Kanaga, William

Keating, Frank

Keinath, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Warren G.

Kraft, Deborah

Krupa, Joan

Kurtzhals, Kurt

Lavan, Maryanne

Lawrence, Cherry

Lenfest, H.F. (Gerry)

Lickona, Thomas

Luther, Barbara

Mardis, Walter & Cindy

Maupin, Lara

Mayfield, Gerald

Mazzola, Joseph

McDonnell, Sanford

McKay, Linda

McKinnon, Oriana

Moretti, Karen

Morris, Linda

Parker, Angela

Perlyn, Donald

Pieper, Richard

Powell, Colin

Rinck, Sandra

Ringer, Tom

Santiago, Eileen

Schapiro, Seth

Shreve, Michael

Siegel, Betty

Sipos, Larry

Sipos, Rebecca

Stanton, Roger

Stiff-Williams, Helen

Tan, Sharon

Teerlink, Richard

Urban, Hal

Valentine, Jennifer

Watson, Marilyn

Wessel, Kay

Wyatt, Carolyn

Wyatt, Iris

Individuals

CEP would also like to thank those individuals and foundations who asked to remain anonymous.

BB&T Bank

Centene Corporation

Lockheed Martin

PPC Foundation

Binky Peters Stephenson Fund

Jack & Annis Bowen Foundation

John Oster Family Foundation

John Templeton Foundation

JSM Charitable Trust

S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Shinnyo-en Foundation

Stephen Bechtel Fund

Stephen M. Boyd Fund

Learning For Life

Lucky U

United Way National Capital Region

Zaner Bloser

Corporations/Foundations

16 CEP 2011 ANNUAL REPORT

Dear CEP Family,

On Jan 1, 2012, I have the honor of becoming CEP’s next President & CEO. For the last 10 years, I’ve served in the role of a K-12 school superintendent. Before that, I led one of the most successful college-level character development pro-grams in our nation. Character education is my passion, and my goal is to help create a world where youth run into people and messages that enhance their character everywhere they go.

For many years, I have admired CEP and its important mission. As the President, I will work hard with the staff, Board of Directors, Education Advisory Council, and all key stakeholders to further the cause of creating healthy school cultures and helping parents raise their children to be people of good character. I also want to see if we can positively impact major character influencers, like the sports world and the entertainment industry. CEP’s ultimate goal should be for each young person to take responsibility for his or her own character. Our nation depends on this, as does our broader world.

In 1992, a group of ethicists, educators and youth service professionals met in Aspen, Colorado and issued the “Aspen Declaration.” Through it, they pledged to work in concert to help build character in children. On the 20th anniversary of that seminal meeting, I look forward to assuming my new position and work-ing with entire CEP family, and its many friends and partners, as we collectively lead the way on this noble journey.

Sincerely,

Mark Hyatt

1025 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 1011

Washington, DC 22036

202-296-7743 • www.character.org

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